Charity predicts increase in truancy due to raising of participation age
Joe Lepper
Monday, September 2, 2013
The rise in the education leaving age to 17, which has come into force this week, will cause the truancy rate to rocket according to Barnardo's.
The charity is warning that cuts to financial support for young people in further education will force many disadvantaged students to truant because they will not be able to afford the costs of school travel and meals.
Using latest government and Barnardo’s research, the charity argues that the discretionary 16-19 Bursary Fund, which replaced the Education Maintenance Allowance, is not enough to cover such costs for the poorest young people.
This will leave many with no alternative other than to miss classes unless the government overhauls the level of financial assistance for disadvantaged pupils.
Barnardo’s assistant director of policy Jonathan Rallings said: “The opportunity to continue learning for an extra year is a golden one for the most disadvantaged students, but if they can’t afford to use this chance properly the risk is they will go from being NEETs to truants.
“Without the right financial support, course options and careers advice we are failing the most vulnerable young people.”
Only a quarter of pupils who are entitled to free school meals gain five GCSEs A*-C, compared with half of their peers.
It is estimated that around 52,000 more young people will return to learning as the increase in the education leaving age takes effect this week.
The change comes as the government announces it will require under-17s who have failed to gain a C grade or above in English and Maths GCSEs to retake the subjects.
The move is based on a recommendation made by Professor Alison Wolf in May following her review of vocational education.
Her review found that in 2012, 285,000 19-year-olds had left school at 16 without a C grade or better in both English and maths GCSE. Of these, just 21 and 23 per cent respectively retook English and maths.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “Good qualifications in English and maths are what employers demand before all others. They are, quite simply, the most important vocational skills a young person can have. Young people must be able to demonstrate their understanding of these subjects.”
Professor Wolf added: “Individuals with very low literacy and numeracy are severely disadvantaged in the labour market.
“I made a number of recommendations in my report; this is the single most important and I am delighted to see it implemented.”
